Great, great stuff

Spotted photographers:

You knocked it out of the park.

I am blown away by the number and the quality of galleries that were posted this weekend. I've received compliments from a number of my contacts. And, frankly, I don't think there's any argument that we have the most comprehensive photocoverage of both the St. Patrick's Day parade and other St. Patty's events throughout WNY of any media outlet in Western New York - easily.

I'm really proud of what I see at the site. Thanks, everyone.

UPDATE: The photo above is by Spotted photographer Bill Parker...or should I say 2008 Spotted Photographer of the Year Bill Parker. Due to either my limited tech skills or a bug in Blogger, my photo caption kept turning into a highlighted link because the first word in the story is a link...didn't mean to snub you, Bill!

Editing admin functions on Spotted

Buffalo.com photo by Marc Wierzbowski.

There have been some questions in the last couple weeks about how to use some of the admin functions on We Spotted galleries once the photos have been posted. It is indeed kind of a counter-intuitive pain in the neck to figure out, so I thought I would post instructions here as a reference anytime you get stuck.

To add tags, rename a gallery, add/edit a description, add/edit categories, or reorder your photos:

• Go to the We Spotted home page. Make sure you are logged in!
  
  
• Check the sub-navigation area in red and click the Photographers link on the right-hand side. This should open a page that shows an alphabetical list from which you can view the various We Spotted photographers. Select the letter that corresponds with your FIRST name. When this page opens, click on your name.
  
  
• This will take you to your We Spotted profile. This is a different section from your My Spotted profile. You should see your most recent six We Spotted galleries (or all of your galleries, if you have posted less than six). At the bottom of these galleries is a link that reads "See All." Click this link.
  
  
• You are now redirected to a page where you will see thumbnail versions of all of your galleries. Beneath each thumbnail will be red commands for ADMIN, EDIT, and REORDER. Use EDIT to change add tags, rename a gallery, add/edit a description, or add/edit categories. The REORDER tool will allow you to move around the photos within your gallery.

If you have additional questions, just let me know!

Lots of events left to choose from!

Buffalo.com photo by Mary Mahoney.

I know it is wicked cold outside...but please consider attending an event this week! Sign-ups have been slow in recent weeks, and, after sending out the latest list, they are down to a trickle. So please...consider taking an event (or two?) this weekend.

Is there a reason for the slowness? Let me know in the comments section below what you think.

Oh, and I noticed that I accidentally added a couple exta days to the events list. Thank you to Marc Wierzbowski for pointing that out...what can I say, I was in a hurry. Monday was Meetings Day here at Buffalo.com, and I was in a bit of a rush to get the list out...a situation made more urgent when my wife got home yesterday and realized she didn't have her apartment key. But all of the events are on the day listed, the days are just a little...superfluous. I apologize for any confusion.

Here are some events that would be great to have covered...if we could get a photographer and/or writer at each of these, I would be a happy man. Please let me know if you are interested.

Wednesday

• Psychobilly Record Hop. A “dance” with tons of 50s, honkey tonk, rockabilly, and punk music. 9 PM, Club Diablo, 517 Washington St., Buffalo.

Thursday

• World’s Largest Office Party. A benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with live music from the Boys of Summer, guest and trick bartenders, and a lot more. 5 PM to 9 PM, Hyatt Regency Buffalo, Two Fountain Plaza, Buffalo.

• Psychobilly Record Hop. A “dance” with tons of 50s, honkey tonk, rockabilly, and punk music. 9 PM, Club Diablo, 517 Washington St., Buffalo.

Friday

• Bunkers in Baghdad benefit party. A happy hour event for Bunkers in Baghdad, Inc, a Buffalo-based not-for-profit that collects and sends new and used golf balls, clubs and equipment to our troops currently serving in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan for recreational purposes. 5:30 PM to 8 PM, Club W, 199 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.

• Canisius hockey: v. Sacred Heart. 7 PM, Buffalo State Ice Arena, Buffalo State College, Buffalo.

Saturday

• Live recording session with Gruvology. Buffalo-based jazz-funk favorites offer a live recording session. 7 PM, Hallwalls, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.

• Canisius hockey: v. Sacred Heart. 7 PM, Buffalo State Ice Arena, Buffalo State College, Buffalo.

• Rooftops. An up-and-coming Buffalo band performs live. 8 PM, Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St., Buffalo.

• Melissa Lussier. The local singer/songwriter performs live and celebrates the release of her new CD. 9 PM, Cabernet Wine Café, 9 PM, 9 N. Ellicott St., Buffalo.

Sunday

• Hunt Real Estate Art of Jazz Series at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery: Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio. From his roots in the legendary jazz clubs of Buffalo’s East Side through recordings and tours with such luminaries as George Benson, Lou Donaldson, and David “Fathead” Newman, Dr. Lonnie Smith is an authentic master of the Hammond B-3 organ. 3 PM, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo.

Video section is looking good, and a few other notes

Buffalo.com/Spotted photo by Darleen Stry.


Hey, I wanted to thank everyone who's been posting videos lately - Dan Ruggiero, Kathi Ross, Bill Parker, Darleen Stry, Eric Malinowski, and others - you are making the site look great, and I thank you.

I've been going back and forth with the people at Morris DigitalWorks - for those of you who don't know, Spotted is actually a vendor-provided product (we didn't invent it at The Buffalo News/Buffalo.com), and Morris is the company that provides it - about some video issues we've had. Those issues have included videos that appear to upload correctly and then disappear, video info that gets jumbled in the text boxes when it uploads, and things of that nature. supposedly, all of these issues have been resolved - if you have trouble uploading video, or upload a video that gets jumbled in the process, let me know because they are ironing out the kinks.

Also - you may or may not have noticed this with Spotted - but the site was upgraded recently and there are some new tools at my disposal. Once again, I can rotate photos and choose thumbnails - so if you notice that some of your photos have changed orientation or your thumbnail is changing, that's me working behind the scenes...of course, I would be very pleased if you rotated your photos and changed your thumbnail regularly...hint hint...but I understand that everyone is busy, and you are probably not a Spotted nerd on the same level as me.

Anyhow, keep those videos coming! We're featuring them on the Buffalo.com home page, and they have been getting a lot more traffic in the actual Spotted section (we also have a video tab on the Buffalo.com home page, but videos viewed at Buffalo.com don't count towards Spotted page views, if that makes any sense). And if you have any questions, let me know.

Back Again

Buffalo.com/Spotted photo by Bill Parker.

OK, as promised, here it is - the new Buffalo.com intern blog. For those of you who remember the old blog, this will be much the same - daily news, tips, kudos, and more regarding our Spotted photographers and - this is new - our YourHub writers, too.

I have two requests for you:

1.) Please check this blog at least once every day (or at least try to). I'm not promising the most interesting blog in the history of the world, but it will be a quick way to keep up with the internship program. Even if you're not going out to any events, it's a way to see what's new.

2.) Please comment! I hate having a one-way conversation. I want your opinions, ideas, criticisms, critiques, and other thoughts about our internship program, the events you attend, things you see at the site, etc. Don't be shy - please reply!

If you have your own blog, please let me know, and I will link directly to your blog from this site.

Anyhow...I look forward to the improved communication.